


Walls Come Tumbling Down

by dadsBBQparty



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Don't copy to another site, High School, M/M, Prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 05:24:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21010451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dadsBBQparty/pseuds/dadsBBQparty
Summary: “Aren’t prom proposals supposed to be really big? How do you expect me to say yes to this when you’re only bringing it up in the library?” Eddie asked.“Well, I had a dance sequence planned, but the librarians knocked that idea down.”---Even after ignoring Eddie for who knows how long, Richie still expects him to say yes to his prom proposal. Eddie knows he's dense since he says yes.





	Walls Come Tumbling Down

“Can you get me one of those wrist flower thingies?”

Eddie looked up from his books, his eyes narrowing with confusion, frustration, whatever the hell is going on in his head. He opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again. His eyes dart down to his books then back up at the boy in front of him. 

“Like a corsage?” he asks Richie. His voice is slow. It’s as if he’s trying to decode something a troubled fourth-grader is asking. “Like for prom?” He gestures to his own wrist, his lips pursed as he waits for an answer. 

“Of course, cutie,” Richie says, resting his arms on the table in front of him. His eyebrows raise expectantly. “You’re taking me to prom, right?” 

This is another question that Eddie isn’t prepared to answer. It’s their senior year of high school, and well, Eddie hasn’t been planning on attending prom. Then, going with Richie is something he hasn’t even considered. Sure, the two of them used to be close, but after sophomore year, Richie seemed to start to disappear from his life. Caught up in trying to be popular, and he was finally, somehow scraping by with the popular group. 

“What about that blonde cheerleader? Kelsey- Kathy, whatshername?” Eddie asks back, closing his book. 

“If I was gonna be going with her, I’d be asking her, wouldn’t I? Who am I to deny the cutest, cutest, cutest person in this school?” Richie retorts, and Eddie nearly snickers. He keeps a tough, angry face the best he can. 

“Aren’t prom proposals supposed to be really big? How do you expect me to say yes to this when you’re only bringing it up in the library?” Eddie replied. 

“Well, I had a dance sequence planned, but the librarians knocked that idea down.” 

Eddie laughs at the comment, despite the fact he truly didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. He’s watching Richie smile, and he can faintly see the way his eyes shine behind those ugly glasses. He wants to be mad that Richie left him. Just left him alone, left him waiting for his calls. Although being in front of him right now, looking at him, face to face, he realizes he can’t be angry. He can’t just walk away from this as Richie had. 

“But really,” Richie continues, his tone shifting for a moment. “I know the chances of you going to prom are kind of low, aren’t they?” Eddie stays quiet, not wanting to confirm what Richie was thinking. “I mean, obviously I could have any girl in this school, look at me! But I was thinking about you, Eddie Spaghetti, and I kinda miss you a little bit- you know.” 

“Your fault,” Eddie adds. “Don’t call me that.” 

“Whatever,” Richie dismisses. “My point is, instead of going stag, or staying at home with your mother- by the way, how is she doing? Oh my G-d, were you going to go to prom with her?” 

“Oh, shut the hell up,” Eddie snaps, his face coiling in disgust. The idea makes him ill. 

Richie snorts and grabs his arm. Eddie’s breath catches in his throat, and he hopes that Richie didn't notice that. “Do you wanna go with me? We got some time to make up for, and we can just laugh at some of the shit they pull, you know?” 

“No,” Eddie says flatly. “I don’t want to go with someone in the millimeter peters club.” Richie smacks the back of Eddie’s head, ignoring the hiss of the librarian across the room. “Fine, yes, I’ll go with you,” Eddie giggles, grabbing his hand before he can smack him again. “Only if you buy the tickets. I don’t want to pay whatever the hell the ticket price is. I think it was like sixty bucks for two, so good luck.” 

“Don’t worry. We can get you a suit too, so your mom doesn’t decide to go to prom with you,” Richie states. 

Eddie’s grinning. He missed this. Just talking to Richie. He nods. “You should get a haircut,” he mumbles, trying to break whatever moment this is. “You’re starting to look like you’re going to start screaming at people about aliens in the middle of the street.” 

“Oh? That’s good to know. I’m achieving my look. Thank you, Eds,” he replies as he stands up. 

“Don’t call me that,” Eddie faintly argues, knowing that it’s pointless. Richie waves briefly, makes some weird gesture to which Eddie says, “keep doing that and I’ll break your kneecaps.” He doesn’t watch how Richie responds since the librarian’s had enough of his language. 

It’s nice talking to Richie again. He calls sometimes, and Eddie’s mom lies and says he’s not home. She makes comments about how ‘that boy will ruin everything’. He’ll ruin her precious Eddie. 

Eddie sneaks down to the basement to call Richie after she’s gone to bed sometimes. How can he ruin something that’s already been broken, like Eddie Kasprak? 

They talk about everything and nothing. Richie tells him about how much sex he’s having, which Eddie knows is none. All the pretend girls that are running out of his window while his parents are asleep. His parents can remain sleeping peacefully. Eddie might have been jealous if he wasn’t so sure that he was blowing smoke. 

“Have you had a girlfriend yet, Eds?” Richie asked him once during lunch, stuffing the food into his mouth before he can taste it. 

“Oh, absolutely,” Eddie says sarcastically. “Like twice as many as you.” So, like, still zero.

“Could never really get over me, the first love of your life?” Richie teases. It hits a nerve, and Eddie momentarily forgets that Richie could just be joking. 

“Richie, I-”

“What’s that?” Richie asks, leaning closer. 

“I get so much pussy that you couldn’t even begin to imagine,” Eddie spits out. Richie laughs. Laughs harder than he has for most of the day. He must know. There’s no one he doesn’t know. Eddie’s gay. He’s gay, gay, gay, gay, gay. There’s no way in hell that Richie wouldn’t know. He just doesn’t say anything. 

Prom’s in a week. Richie’s climbed to Eddie’s window, startling him awake. His eyes widen, checking by the door then back at the window as Richie taps on it, begging to be let in. He rushes out of bed and locks his door, then goes to open the window. He hopes Richie can see him glaring at him clearly in the dark. 

“What’s up?” he whispers. “I am not harboring a fugitive here. What did you do?” 

“Nothing,” Richie whispers back with his normal shit-eating grin on his face. “I just thought it’d be funny-” 

“It’s not funny. If my mom catches you here, she might actually kill me. I’m not supposed to have anyone in my room, boys or girls, let alone while she’s sleeping-” Eddie is starting to find it hard to breathe. 

Richie reaches out for him before he can consider searching for his inhaler. Forces him to look at him. Ground him. “Shut up, you’re eighteen now. What’s she gonna say? Tell you to move out? Aren’t you leaving for college soon?” 

“Shut up,” Eddie says quickly. He notices Richie has a duffle bag, and he grows more and more concerned. “I really mean it when I say I can’t have fugitives in my room.” 

“Spaghetti, I really-” Richie sighs, gesturing for Eddie to move so he can come in. Reluctantly, Eddie lets him, carefully listening to see if he can hear his mother’s footsteps. “I’m surprised she let you have a lock.” 

“She doesn’t know about it yet. I built it,” Eddie whispers. “We haven’t had to use it yet…” 

Richie sets the bag on the bed. “I just need one night away from my parents, okay?”

“So you decided to come here? Why not Bill, Mike, anyone else?” Eddie’s freaking. “I’m not kidding. I think my mom might kill you if she sees you in here, at night, with me, in my room....” 

“Your mom wouldn’t touch me like _that_, Eddie,” Richie sighs, sitting down on his bed. He opens up his bag, pulling something out. It’s a suit. “It’s yours. I got it for you. I told you I would, right?”

Eddie takes it. Examines it. It’s a little too big- a lot too big… but he can fix that. He knows how to fix that. So does Bev if he asks her. He sighs, looks down at Richie, back up at the fabric. It’s soft, silky, nice. “How did you get it?” he asks. 

“Your mom gave it to me after last-”

He’s getting sick of the ‘your mom’ jokes. “Shut up, Richie,” Eddie mutters, setting the suit back down. Scared he might dirty it. Ruin what special aura it exudes. “What happened? If you’re going to stay here, you have to tell me. Like if the cops are after you, I don’t want to-” 

“No, the cops aren’t after me, Eds,” Richie says softly, yawning under his breath. Eddie notices his face looks rougher, puffier. He sits down beside him, and Richie sets his hand down on Eddie’s knee. Eddie pulls him closer, letting him rest his head on his shoulder. Like they would when they were children. 

“Just talk to me, Richie. I know we’ve been through worse…” 

“My dad and I got into… a fight,” Richie tells him. Eddie frowns, worrying about the story behind his words. His hand moves to Richie’s shoulder, trying to find a way to comfort him. “Told me to get out of the house a few hours ago. I was driving around in my car, trying to think of what to do. Mom’s out of town until tomorrow afternoon. She’s gonna fix it, I know, but…”

Eddie hugs him, and he can feel Richie shaking. He hugs him back tightly. Eddie wishes he would just cry around him. He knows he needs it, deserves it. He knows Richie won’t, but he wishes. 

He wants to ask why his father would be angry, but he knows it’s not the time. If Richie wanted to tell him, he would. 

“You can stay here until you can figure things out. Just be quiet, okay?” Eddie whispers. He knows he’s going back on his words. “You can share my bed with me right now.” 

“Okay,” Richie says softly. He pulls away from him, and he lets out a deep breath. Eddie wants to ask him so many questions, but right now, he inhales. 

It’s dark. He stands up, walking to his dresser. He picks up his hairbrush. Richie takes off his shoes, leaves them by the window. He comes back, sits on the bed, and Eddie sits behind him. It’s something simple. Something Eddie would do when Richie was shaken up as a kid. Just comb his hair to remind him that he was safe with him. 

“I love you, Eds,” Richie says as Eddie brings the brush through his hair, gently loosening up a knot. It’s not as bad as it was years prior. 

“I love you too, Richie,” Eddie replies softly. 

“I’m sorry. I know I was an asshole. I don’t know what came over me…” 

“What are you sorry for?” Eddie asks. 

“Everything. Leaving you. Ignoring you. Coming back into your life now, and expecting there to be room for me,” Richie says. 

“There’s plenty of room,” Eddie reminds him. He hugs him from behind, and Richie gently takes the hairbrush before it’s dropped. He lets Eddie holds him. He smells like cheap soap. Eddie’s just happy that he cleans himself. “I get it. High school makes you stupid.” Richie scoffs and nods. 

Sleeping next to Richie isn’t as easy as it was when they were kids, he realizes. It’s really not easy to sleep next to the ‘love of your life’, as Richie puts it. 

Richie’s mom figures it out, like he said she would. He’s welcomed back home. Eddie’s thankful for that, but he’s worried about it anyways. He doesn’t really want Richie anywhere near his dad, but as Richie said, they’re moving soon. 

“Where are you going to college?” Richie asks Eddie. They’re sitting outside the pharmacy.

“Penn State, I think,” Eddie mutters. “Mom doesn’t know. I got a scholarship.” 

“Cool,” Richie says. He sounds disappointed. 

“Where are you going?” Eddie asks. 

“Don’t know. I didn’t even think I was good enough for college.” 

“Just apply to Penn State,” Eddie jokes. “We can be roommates.” 

“That’d be cool,” Richie smiles. He hands Eddie a twenty-dollar bill, and of course, he takes it, but he’s not sure why he’s handing it to him. 

“I’m not gonna have sex with you for twenty bucks,” Eddie grumbles. 

“Baby, I’d give you at least twenty-five for that,” Richie replies. Eddie rolls his eyes. “It’s for the flower thing. I want real flowers, not any of those scratchy fake ones.” 

Eddie’s ears start to heat up. “You’re serious about that?” he asks. 

“C’mon, it’s not complete without that, dumbass,” Richie groaned, tossing him gently with his elbow. “If you really, really, really love me, you’ll get me that, y’know?” 

Eddie watches him bat his eyes. He fights back the urge to laugh in his face, instead, he tries to act annoyed. “I’m not buying you flowers, Trashmouth.” 

“No, I’m buying me flowers, since I’m paying for them. You’re just picking them up. Don’t get your panties all in a bunch. Go be a man and buy me some fuckin’ flowers!” His hands hit the cement beneath them dramatically. Eddie yells softly, making Richie giggle. 

“Fine, fine,” Eddie says, standing up. He throws the twenty back at him. “But I’m a grown-ass man. I’ll pay for your flowers myself,” he declares. Richie throws a thumbs up at him and then literally points him in the right direction. 

“Up the street. See you soon, Eddie Spaghetti.” 

Richie’s supposed to drive up to his house and pick him up for prom. He’s got his parent’s busted Oldsmobile, and Eddie’s nervous about the safety of that thing, but first, he has to figure out how to get out of the house. His mom’s not going to be happy. She was so pleased when Richie stopped talking to him. 

He’s dressed up nicer than he thinks he ever has been, at least since middle school. He knows he’s going to have to wrestle to get out of the house once his mom realizes what’s up. He’s fixing his tie in the mirror behind his door when he sees the headlights pull up by his house. 

Well, there goes his chance of sneaking out without his mother noticing. He thought he told Richie to turn off the brights. 

“Eddie?” she calls out from the living room. “Who’s that?” 

“Prom date, mom!” Eddie calls back as he grabs the corsage. He’s going to move out soon, anyways. Might as well just be honest. He runs out of his room, down the stairs, dashing past his mom as she tries to piece together what’s going on. 

“You weren’t going to tell me about this?!” 

Not a chance, Eddie thinks as he slams the door after him. 

“Cute, cute, cute!” Richie’s shouting from the driver’s seat. Eddie can’t help but grin at the comment. It’s weird when he thinks about it. Going to prom with Richie- what would he have thought back then? 

“With the Tozier boy?!” Eddie’s mother shrieks as she’s walking out the door, trying to keep up with Eddie. 

“Salutations!” Richie yells from the car. “Been a while! Eddie, are you gonna give your mom a kiss? Give her another one from me!” 

Eddie runs for the car like he has seconds to claim this opportunity. If he looks back at his mother, he fears he might cancel everything. Go back to her, watch some movie he doesn’t even like. Instead, he slides into the passenger’s seat, and Richie’s driving before the door’s even closed. 

“You want to fucking kill me before we get to prom?!” Eddie yells as the door slams. He’s fumbling for the seatbelt. 

“Yeah, that’s the plan. That’s why I wasted all that money on the tickets,” Richie grins. 

Eddie glances over at him. His face is heating up so deeply, he’s absolutely certain that Richie is going to notice the moment he looks over at him. He was too caught up with what was happening with his mom and the darkness of the street to see his entire outfit. Oh, fuck, how is he going to survive this night? 

“Your makeup looks really cheap,” he blurts out.

Richie’s sporting a prom dress. Not just any prom dress- it must have been his mom’s old prom dress from the seventies. Ugly, see-through sleeves, an unsettling light blue color. It’s more ruffled than not. He taps the side of his fuzzy cheek, inviting Eddie to give him a kiss. Eddie nearly does it, then settles on blowing a loud fart noise in his ear. “Can you fix my hair for me before we go in, loverboy?” Richie asks him.

“Y-Yeah,” Eddie sighs, setting the corsage on his lap. 

“Can’t look at that while I’m driving, honey,” Richie says, keeping his eyes on the road. 

He’s soooo fucking cute, Eddie thinks to himself. How the hell can Richie wear the ugliest things but still look so good? 

Richie pulls over under a street light, enough out of the way that no one will bother them. Somehow it’s more intimidating for Richie to continue being so tall while wearing his mom’s old, ugly dress. He sits down on the hood of the car, and Eddie scrambles out to sit beside him. Richie hands him a comb. 

“I thought if we were gonna make a statement, we might as well really make a statement. Give them a reason to remember us when we’re gone, you know?” 

He wants to tell him the truth. You look stupid but pretty. So stupid but so pretty. He takes the comb and pulls out the loose hairbands from Richie’s hair. He combs through it and then begins to braid it neatly. 

“Why’d your mom give you her dress?” he asks him softly. He wants to lean just a bit closer and hug him from behind, but he settles for what’s happening now. 

“She didn’t. I took it from the basement,” Richie answers. Eddie’s hand combs through his hair. It’s soft. He must have washed it earlier. “Dad was pretty pissed, but when mom found out, she thought it was pretty funny. She wanted to get pictures of us.” 

Eddie frowns. He wishes Richie would have let him know earlier. “We’ll get a picture after I’m done. I think my camera’s still in your backseat.”

“It is. I used it a bit,” Richie laughs. Eddie smiles.

“Gross, I don’t wanna see those,” Eddie mutters. “Probably looks like ET.” 

“Oh, fuck off,” Richie argues. Eddie finishes up his hair and hands him back the comb. Never looked better. Braided and clean. Eddie’s always surprised at how long it gets. “You want to see those pictures, and you fucking know it.” When Eddie hands him back the comb, Richie walks to the truck and pulls out the camera. Eddie notices the combat boots under the dress, and he wishes he could be just a little bit surprised. 

They trade-off, taking pictures of each other. Richie’s a poser, and Eddie’s just the definition of awkward when it comes to taking photos. Eventually, they take a photo as a pair, ten-second increments. Before Eddie has time to process what they’re going to do, Richie’s falling into his arms. The photo snaps. 

Eddie catches him, holding onto him as if he didn’t want to let go. His hands gripping onto Richie’s arms, feeling the itchy, see-through fabric. 

“Eds, you’re kinda hurting me a bit,” Richie chuckles, getting back onto his feet. Eddie’s hands release and Richie glances down at him once he’s standing up. He’s leaning down, and Eddie’s trying to remember how to breathe. Looking up at Richie’s shitty eyeliner, his poorly painted bubblegum lips, and his bold blush. He looks so stupid, and Eddie just wants to kiss him. Wants to smear that ugly color of lipstick all over his face. “You okay?” 

Eddie trembles lightly as Richie sets his hands on his shoulders. Instead of answering, he just shoves him off of him. “Did we get enough photos?” he asks as he looks away from him. 

“That’s up to you,” Richie answers. Eddie realizes the camera’s catching this. Catching their moments together, as it goes off, goes off, goes off…

“I just wanna go get this prom shit over with,” Eddie mutters. 

When he looks over, Richie’s frowning. He tries to ignore it. He doesn’t want to get involved with that feelings shit right now. That’s all he ever does, just feelings. No wonder Richie got bored with him. 

In the parking lot, Eddie senses Richie’s regretting it.

Eddie’s not quite sure what he’s regretting, but he’s regretting something. 

“Let’s get it over then,” Richie says, throwing his car keys at Eddie. No pockets. Eddie has multiple. People are aweing and ooing mockingly, and they’re both ignoring it. It’s not like it’s new to them. 

Bill’s at prom. He’s at the front door. Eddie guesses that Mike must be there, and therefore, the others. He waves at him, and Bill waves back, seeming preoccupied. 

“Where’s Bev?” Richie asks Bill, dragging Eddie behind him. No hello, no how are you. “Is she here?” 

“Richie, what the fuck are you wearing?” Bill spits out, his eyes wide. “I’m wait… waiting for her right now, calm down.” 

“Your mom gave it to me,” Richie replies, looking down at his dress. Eddie can tell his heart’s not in the insult, and he’s beginning to worry. “She said you might be jealous. Is that true? Are you?” 

“Shut the fuck up, Trashmouth.” 

“Richie,” Eddie interrupts, shaking him lightly. He can hear him sigh, and he’s glancing down at him again. 

“What’s up?” Richie asks, seeming irritated. 

Eddie looks at Bill. He seems about as irritated as Richie, and he’s starting to slump at the pressure of trying to speak to them. He wants to take back his actions. Right before his outburst at Richie. 

He wants to go back far enough that the seven of them still talked. He wants to go back to the time before Bill rolled his eyes at Richie. 

It was all him, wasn’t it? Richie started fading away from Eddie, and that must be why he was fading away from the rest of the group. It was all his fault that he’s alone without Richie, and it’s all his fault that they separated. 

“Where are the tickets?” he asks quietly, pouting. . 

“Will call. I’ll grab them in a minute,” Richie says quickly. Eddie can see him looking over Bill. 

“You’re not that intimidating, y’know? Under your fu-fucking big ass glasses, Trashmouth,” Bill mutters. Eddie rips Richie away. 

He’s scared of crying in front of him as they walk inside. Richie must sense something. He pulls him aside as they walk inside the venue. 

“What the fuck is up with you, Eddie?” Richie whispers, grabbing his face so he’s forced to look into his gigantic eyes. “You got really weird on me.” 

“Oh, because you’re absolutely fucking normal,” Eddie snaps back, setting his hand on Richie’s hand to pull it away. Richie smacks his hand off. 

“Okay, fuck, fine. I’ll tell you. I wanted one fucking night with you that I could remember. One fucking night before you’re whisked away to college, and you tell me you’re gonna talk to me, but you call me once and I never hear from you again. Then you tell me that you just want it to be over with? Eddie, you never fucking get it. You never do,” Richie huffs, letting go of his face. “Just one fucking night. I missed you, Eddie. I missed you so fucking much.” 

“I missed you too,” Eddie sniffs. His legs are feeling weak. “Richie, I’m scared of that too. You’re my best friend. I don’t want to just… lose you.” 

“Well, then stop being an asshole,” Richie demands. 

“I’m not an asshole. You’re being the asshole. You’ve been the asshole all along. We beat a fucking clown together. Richie, we _beat_ a clown together. Physically, beat a clown. We’re closer than ever, and then you just fucking leave me? _You_ left me, Richie. I didn’t leave you. I’m not the asshole!” 

It’s only when he’s done that he realizes he was yelling. Richie’s eyes are narrowed, his lips are shut tightly together. 

“I’m sorry,” Richie finally mutters, exhaling deeply. Eddie’s silent. “I thought I apologized for that. I’m sorry for leaving you, Eddie.” 

“Shut up…” Eddie whispers. He realizes he can’t stand to hear Eddie apologize to him so much. 

“Can we just go to the dance?” Richie asks, his voice breaking. “I just want to spend the night with you, my best friend… Can we-”

“Yeah,” Eddie whispers, swallowing hard. He nods before reaching for Richie’s hand. Richie squeezes his hand in his. It’s reassuring, comforting. They decide to just drop this for the night. Maybe they’ll talk about it tomorrow. 

Richie lets him hold him. Richie lets him keep his hand on his hip while they’re dancing. Richie lets him rest his head on his shoulder. Richie holds Eddie’s head close to him, letting him ignore the voices that surround them. Eddie can’t believe he nearly let this go. 

Richie’s a terrible dancer. He’s always stepping on Eddie’s feet, knocking into him, hitting him accidentally. 

Eddie thinks he saw the other losers at one point. All he can remember is staring up at Eddie. 

They may never be able to pull shit like this again, but right now it feels pretty good. It feels good to open, to publicly hold Richie like this. He wants to do it every day. He doesn’t want this to be a special occasion, even though prom’s a shitfest. He wouldn’t have missed it if it wasn’t for Richie. 

“I love you,” he whispers under the loud music. He wants to say it loud enough for Richie to hear him and know what he means. 

After prom, they’re sitting in the parking lot of a fast-food joint on the roof of Richie’s car. Richie’s shoving food into his face. The lipstick’s gone now. Eddie’s eating a sundae. It tastes cheap, but he’s not sure he’s ever eaten ice cream this good. 

“If it wasn’t for that fucking clown, I wouldn’t have the courage to sit here in this fucking outfit,” Richie mutters as he digs a fry in Eddie’s ice cream. Eddie flicks the ice cream that it touched out of his cup and onto the cement. 

“Richie, what happened…?” Eddie whispers quietly. He’s nervous about an answer. “What happened to you and Bill? You stopped talking, and then you just stopped talking to me…”

Richie looks over at him. He stops eating. He sets the food down on the roof of his car and wipes his hands off on a napkin, knowing it’d piss Eddie off if he did anything else. 

“Eddie, I’m fucking gay,” he says, so matter of fact that Eddie can nearly believe it. “After all that shit we went through, the biggest fear I had was you guys knowing that. Bill hinted at it. Told me that if you and I were gonna get any closer, we’d be married. I wasn’t prepared to hear that shit, so I just…” 

“I’m gay too,” Eddie admits. It feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. The weight of never being able to tell anyone that. 

“Eds,” Richie whispers, setting his hand on his knee. It feels warm. “You wanna hear a secret?” 

“What?” Eddie asks. Richie’s smiling at him, so Eddie’s smiling. 

“I always fucking knew that, you idiot. Do you think I don’t like you too?” 

Eddie’s not sure which one of them initiated the kiss, but they’re kissing. Richie pulls him close, his hand on the small of his back. Eddie can taste the fast food on his breath. It’s gross, but Richie’s gross. He’s so gross, and Eddie loves him so much. He feels like his heart’s exploding each time he feels his breath hitting him.

Someone smacks the hood of the car, and Richie breaks the kiss to scream at them. Literally just shriek. They grab their food quickly off the roof of the car and quickly make it into the car, driving off before anything else can happen. 

They’re not sure where they’re driving, but they’re driving. Part of Eddie wishes they could just leave town together. Never come back to this hellsite. The other part of him is worried about his homework that’s due on Monday. 

“Is that-” 

“Stan?” 

“And the others.” 

“Can you pull over?”

Richie nods. Eddie can sense the tension coming from his side of the car. 

“What are you fuckers doing?” Eddie calls out of the window. He doesn’t stick his head out. He might get decapitated at the five miles per hour Richie’s going. It’s the rest of the losers. They’re sitting at the side of the road in Mike’s pickup truck. They’re all dressed up in suits, Bev in a green dress that Eddie assumes is handmade. Just a little out of the ways of normal traffic, like Richie and Eddie were subconsciously planning on. 

“What are you fuckers doing?” Stan calls back. “I tried to get your attention like an hour ago.”

Richie throws his keys at Eddie again, who fumbles a bit before sliding them into his pocket. They both get out of the car and lean against the pickup truck. 

It’s weird. Feeling so connected yet disconnected. 

“Bill,” Richie says softly. Bill glances up at him, and then the rest of the losers are staring. “Eddie and I fucked, and now we’re going to have to get married.” 

“We did _not_!” Eddie argues, making Richie snicker. “We didn’t-” 

“Eddie, do you want them to think you’re just a stupid virgin?” Richie argues. 

“Richie, wouldn’t you be a little too dirty for Eddie to get with?” Ben interjects. Eddie grins up at him. He hasn’t seen him so dressed up before. Nice pink suit with a cute little black bowtie. Richie smacks him on the arm. 

“He showered today,” Eddie answers. He’s not sure why he’s telling them, but it left his mouth anyways. 

“Yeah, with your mom,” Richie counters. Eddie makes a face of disgust, turning away from him while Bev rubs his shoulder gently. 

“I think I get what you’re trying to say,” Bill replies, hitting Richie gently on the head. “You’re saying you’re a fucking idiot for acting like a jerk, and that you, you’re sorry.” 

“Are you ready to talk to us again?” Mike asks. 

“Implying I ever stopped. You guys just got intimidated by my popularity,” Richie says confidently. 

“I saw you sitting with your English teacher like all the time,” Ben tells him. 

“I thought you were just in detention,” Bev remarks. She shrugs. 

“Oh, fuck you both,” Richie tells them, slapping the car gently. 

“Eddie, you believed him, didn’t you?” Mike asks him. Eddie’s face twists, and that’s all the answer they need. “So, what was up with you two at the dance? You didn’t even notice us trying to talk to you.” Stan’s making kissy noises. Bill’s shaking Stan to stop, swallowing laughter. 

“That’s my boyfriend right there,” Richie says proudly, pointing to Eddie. 

“I’m your boyfriend?” Eddie squeaks. 

“You’re my boyfriend.” 

“I’m Richie’s boyfriend.” 

Eddie’s ready to let Richie be all sorts of annoying with him. They reach for each other, shoving Stan and Bill out of the way to hold hands in front of them. Bill’s rolling his eyes, but Eddie can tell he’s relieved. 

“Welcome back to the Losers Club,” Bev says cheerfully to Richie, slapping their hands out of the way so Bill and Stan aren’t suffocating against the back of the car. Richie blows a kiss to Eddie, and before he can consider what’s doing, he’s running up to Richie, embracing him as tightly as he can. Like’s a dream come true. A dream he needs to hold close to him.

**Author's Note:**

> I was watching like a LOT of Glee, so I needed to write something about prom.
> 
> Also, here's a playlist link for something I worked on after seeing Chap 2: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5algZCXy6e1fWFT7ZqVw5h?si=xcJWt5MRTxuBaWm3m6gYgQ 
> 
> Thank you for reading. :) :) Feels good to be writing again.


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